**3.2 Characterization**

Images were obtained using the field-emission scanning electron microscope (SEM, JEOL JSM-7401F) and the transmission electron microscope (TEM, HT7700 Hitachi). For the ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectra, the Evolution 220 spectrophotometer UV-Vis (Thermo Scientific) was used. The FTIR spectra were obtained with an IRAffinity-1S Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (Shimadzu). The sample was irradiated with an 820 nm wavelength/3.1 mW laser (Multi-Channel Fiber-Coupled Laser Source, Thorlabs), and the infrared images were taken with a Noncontact Digital IR Thermometer (TrueIR Agilent Keysight U5855A). Measurement of the particles and histograms were acquired with the Image J® software [24].
